Rice & Beans, Anyone?

by Virginia Whitney

Virginia’s first impressions of Rice & Beans Month left her skeptical at best. Then, she traveled to East Africa and saw the impact with her own eyes.

In the fall of 2013, I traveled to Tanzania with the Lahash team. My experience was amazing. I would even venture to say life changing. We stayed in people’s homes, ate the local food, and rode the public transportation. While there, I had an opportunity to share a meal with some incredible kids who are part of a nutrition program funded by Rice & Beans Month.

A nutrition program for HIV+ children in Tanzania is a direct result of Rice & Beans Month.

A dimly lit room in the church, moments before bubbling with echoes of laughter and play, became peacefully soundless as we enjoyed our meal. Each child was given a generous portion of rice, beans, cooked greens, and a banana. As we ate, I caught the occasional shy smile and curious glance from little faces around the room. One of these shy smiles was from Happy, my own sponsored child!

As we sat and shared the meal, I thought back to a potluck I attended two years earlier with my sister’s small group from her church in Portland. The whole potluck was dishes consisting of only rice and beans. Only rice and beans!?! Where are the meat and potatoes? Everyone there was choosing to eat more simply for the month of March in order to send the money they saved on groceries to East Africa to improve nutrition for vulnerable children. At the time, the idea was so foreign to me, maybe even a little extreme. It seemed like such an inconvenience to everyday life to be restricted to a diet of rice and beans. I imagined endless explanations in the lunch room, bringing your own food to family functions, and ordering rice and beans when out with friends. I envisioned multiple socially awkward moments combined with an abundance of flatulence. Little did I know I would find myself in East Africa two years later, eating rice and beans with the kids who directly benefited from the efforts of those peculiar Portlanders.

I have two beautiful little girls of my own, and during almost every meal at home, at least one of them asks me how many bites she must take before she can be done and walk away from food untouched, wasted. I never heard that dreaded question in Tanzania. No one whined that the greens were green, or that the beans were touching the rice. The children finished their lunch with genuine appreciation for the food prepared for them, something I rarely witness back home.

Virginia performs a health check on Happy, her sponsored child.

I work as a Physician Assistant, so after the kids finished eating lunch, I put my professional knowledge to work and gave each of them a health check. Surprisingly, most of the children were very healthy considering they are all HIV positive and on antiretroviral therapy. The nutrition from these meals is vital for keeping their immune systems healthy, which reduces HIV symptoms and complications. This program has played a large role in maintaining the health of these children. The sad reality is that for many of these kids, it is the only meal they will eat all day.

After spending time with these kids, altering my diet for an entire month no longer seems like quite the inconvenience. Will I commit to the same level as my sister’s small group did? Honestly, probably not. However, I do want to participate. During Rice & Beans Month, I plan to focus on eating more simply overall, and fitting in a few rice and beans meals throughout each week. I think baby steps are okay. Not everyone can be a peculiar Portlander, but we can all move towards this common goal of feeding a group of vulnerable children one life-changing — possibly life-saving — meal a day.

Rice and beans, anyone?

Although Happy is HIV+, she is found to be relatively healthy, in large part due to the nutrition program.

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Photos by Will Campbell